My pastor comes up with some pretty creative church signs. Sometimes they are humorous, like the time back in October when the sign said “beat the Christmas rush.” That was a good one. Other times they are straight to the point and convicting. Case in point, the other night I pulled into our church parking lot and our sign read:
A dream which produces no plan is a daydream.
Honestly, that little church sign stirred up something in me. It hit me square between my eyes, or moreover, my heart. Because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing too much of lately . . . daydreaming.
You see, I dream a lot. I dream about things I want to accomplish and what my children will be like as they grow. I dream about my husband and the life we will have years down the road. And I dream even more about the God-sized dream deep down in my heart. The dream that one day has me writing books and Bible studies and speaking to women. The dream that has a generation of leaders rising up to put on the armor of God. But those dreams, as wonderful as they are, are simply daydreams for now.
You see, the reason why our church sign struck such a chord with me that crisp Wednesday evening was because I realized that maybe, just maybe, daydreaming is safer than choosing to chase after my dreams.
I can daydream all day long about writing books and speaking to large audiences of women. But actually taking steps to fulfill that dream . . . well that’s much scarier.
It requires courage to dream. Boldness. Persistence. Unwavering faith.
Living out our dreams can be scary. Anything that requires we leave our comfort zone and rely fully on God can be. It’s the fear of the unknown. The fear of failing. It’s the realization that the enemy’s voice is often louder than our own.
I’m wondering if you are struggling with daydreaming?
Do you have dreams? A calling you feel God has placed on your life? But you stand frozen, afraid to take a step towards making that daydream a fulfilled promise.
I want to pose these questions to you.
What needs to happen for you to take your daydreams and transform them into dream planning?
What will it take for you to take that leap of faith and begin to pursue the dreams God has laid on your heart?
Maybe it’s not that you’re afraid to take that leap of faith. Maybe you think God has forgotten all about your dreams because nothing has happened. Oh friend, you are not forgotten! Listen to what Peter tells us:
Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.
2 Peter 3:9 MSG
Peter wants us to see that God doesn’t measure time in the way that we measure time. The same goes for our dreams. We can’t measure our dreams by the world’s earthly ways. We must look upwards towards The Eternal’s way.
Friend, God has not forgotten your dreams. If He has impressed something on your heart, a desire, a dream, then in His time, He will fulfill His promise. As Peter says, “God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness.”
Today I want to encourage you to put your daydreams into action and start dream planning.
The enemy will tell us over and over again that our dreams are impossible. They are too big. That we are not able to achieve them. And He’s right. If left to our own abilities and desires then they would be.
But God.
I just love that. But God.
The Master Dreamer. The Crafter. The Potter. The One who makes the impossible possible.
He is inviting you to stop daydreaming and start producing the fruit of His work. Will you accept the invitation?
Will you do me a favor? Grab a spare sheet of a paper and something to write with. I wish we could sit across from each other as we do this. But since we can’t, let’s imagine that we’re in some nice coffee shop or quiet restaurant with one another and we’re sipping our beverages slowly, daydreaming together. And just for a few moments, I want you to write down your dreams. All of them that come to mind. Don’t worry about sounding eloquent or grammatically correct. Remember, it’s just us. I want you to put pen to paper on all of those daydreams you’ve been having.
Look over what you wrote down. It probably seems crazy or too hard, right? The overall big picture probably will be. So now take those daydreams and find one or two things that you can do in the upcoming months that will become a step towards the big dream. Break it down into small goals. This is what dream planning looks like. Making small steps towards reaching our dreams.
One way I’m dream planning for the year is to take a blogging course and a writing class. What are some things you wrote down? As we finish our coffee or tea, I look at you, my big dreamer. And I challenge you with this question,
[Tweet “Why don’t you command fear away and only invite boldness in? “]
Easier said than done right? I know. But I want to encourage you to keep pressing on. Don’t let the enemy silence your dreams. Daydreams are fun, but they don’t produce anything. We’ve got to turn our daydreams into dream planning and starting making bold moves for The Lord’s work.
So today . . .
Will you invite boldness in?
Will you trust that God will fulfill His promises to you?
Will you begin to produce the fruit that is needed to reach others and help spread The Gospel?
Are you daydreaming or dream planning?
